316 FIELD, FOREST AND FARM 



like an enormous mushroom, spreading out all 

 around the trunk of a tree, which serves as its stalk, 

 while the lower branches also furnish their support. 

 This colossal edifice is of such bulk and weight as to 

 make a wagon-load, and if one wishes to see the in- 

 terior structure it must be chopped to pieces with 

 an axe. It is formed wholly of dry grass arranged 

 much like the thatch on our rustic roofs. 



"Indeed, this structure, built at public expense by 

 all the associated birds, is nothing but a roof, a 

 dome, destined to shelter the real nests, which are 

 attached to the inside of the thatched covering. 

 Here are to be found a multitude of round holes pre- 

 senting all together somewhat the appearance of a 

 honeycomb. Each hole gives access to a small cell, 

 a veritable nest and the separate work of a single 

 pair. The grass roof, then, is built in common by 

 the whole society, after which each family provides 

 for its exclusive use a little apartment attached to 

 the lower side of the roof. The number of inhabi- 

 tants may reach as high as a thousand." 



